Reading Alexander

• a [[book club]]
  • [[pull]] [[patterning]]

[[2021-05-26]]

• I read what we agreed to read :)
  • [[patterns]]
  • [[pattern chosen]]
• proposal: design a space following the example in the introductory material? 10-20 patterns combined.
  • [[xxxv]] for example
  • [[xxxviii]] for [[procedure]]
  • [[code]] a generator?
    • fit between patterns seems represented by recommended patterns at higher and lower level?
  • [[armengol]] some problems perhaps
    • we need to imagine a need for building something? what would be the context for the exercise?
• [[andreas]]
  • would probably recommend people just go to [[a pattern language]] directly, it seems to be self-contained
  • did something with [[a pattern language]] ~1y ago
  • it just seems like previous reading wouldn't help learning how to write your own patterns?
    • [[jonathan]] what would you recommend?
    • the ideological component sometimes doesn't resonate; the patterns themselves, which can be used and changed regardless of ideology, seem more generally useful.
  • [[simon]] this is framed as one big project (the three books). what's interesting: there is some goal of trying to provide a set of tools to shape one's environment.
    • [[notsof]] could almost be computed by a machine
    • whereas [[apl]] is very much grounded
      • [[abstract]] -> [[concrete]]
    • topic: what is [[timeless]] and [[beautiful]]. how the environment shapes us as much as we shape the environment.
    • the weakest patterns are the strongly [[utilitarian]]. the stronger ones are "spiritual"
    • some contradictions between patterns
      • he loves dense cities and lively areas
      • but he wants height limits and only building on 50% of the area
    • units per building
    • in a contemporary context a lot of the patterns are very difficult to achieve
    • aside: would be interesting to model fit/misfit between patterns even as we swap in/out some of them
  • pattern: [[filtered light]]
    • mentions how the perception of light gets softened if it's filtered; less high contrast, which is a nice quality. for living spaces softness is nice.
    • film makers think it makes objects more lively: e.g. leaves casting moving shadows.
    • third reason: speculative. stimulates us biologically (?)
      • could be socialized aesthetics instead.
    • when planning windows, this pattern is recommended.
• [[armengol]]
  • pattern: [[window place]]
    • thought about this pattern within his home
    • previous place had an obviously amazing view -- you could see the [[sagrada familia]]
    • [[zen view]] is mentioned as related to this pattern, though, and it relates with something interesting that happened in the old place. the view was [[normalized]]. it became part of the background; like alexander says.
    • now have to go to a specific place to look at a view now.
  • [[q]] when trying to differentiate between the list of patterns
• [[jonathan]]
  • [[four stories limit]]
    • ideology aside: main thing that bothered me in general. trying to justify things as [[natural]].
    • "want to find a pattern that looks ridiculous"
    • in zurich: like [[hardau]] towers
    • some justification for this pattern has to do with mental health issues
    • people who live in high rises are less likely to go out into the world
      • [[sky bridges]]
    • feeling connected to the city life
    • [[andreas]] it seems very opinionated, it depends on one's preferences. you might not care about the misfits and have fits with your lifestyle.
    • [[simon]] four floors doesn't seem high density enough for city life. attitude towards skyrises changes a lot across cultures. singapore for example has a very different disposition towards them.
      • most sustainable density is about six floors.
      • the most antisocial aspect of high rises is to have parking-lot-to-living-floor.
      • isolation in high rises is a big problem though.
    • [[andreas]] there is a huge grey area between four floors and high rises
      • zurich proposed having public rooftops and bike lanes between them
• [[simon]]
  • [[bus stop]]
    • liked: both describing a set of objects and activity/life that emerges around those objects
    • "if the knit together" the system is a good one
    • view things like traffic lights as items of public living
• [[alice]]
  • [[interior windows]]
  • [[pedestrian street]]
    • social glue in society
    • streets that are "too wide" are antisocial -- but of course nowadays with covid-19 that might be outdated
• [[eduardo]]
  • [[independent regions]]

[[2021-05-12]]

• [[ttwob]]
• [[lorand]]
  • found himself reading in a less analytical way
  • [[armengol]]
    • the structure itself seems to encourage this
    • "I need to read it fast" yields a different kind of reading too, perhaps
  • [[lorand]] some pieces seem to be a bit rough. but interesting questions
    • the observation that people feel calm in nature -> homogeneity in aesthetics
    • ad hoc/rushed at the end: processes for using patterns for differentiation of space. differentiation vs accumulation
    • some vagueness
  • a bit tragic perhaps: towards the end, neighbors working together to make their houses beautiful. seemed a bit utopian in a modernist sense.
• a [[pattern]] has a [[context]], a [[problem]] and a [[solution]] that resolves the set of conflicting forces.
• embodiment as crucial vs the software patterns
• [[kowloon walled city]]
• [[tokyo 1960]]
• [[wabi sabi]]

• [[lorand]]

[[april]]

• [[notsof]]
• [[ttwob]]

[[2021-03-17]]

• [[ttwob]]

[[2021-02-28]]

• [[participants]]
  • [[jonathan]]
  • [[alice]]
    • [[architecture]]!
  • [[andreas]]
    • [[mtr]] [[graphic design]]
    • [[urban spaces]]
  • [[simon]]
    • [[architecture]]!
    • [[netherlands]]
  • [[ekin]]
    • [[mtr]] [[design]] [[visual arts]]
    • interested in [[mapping]]!
  • [[daniel]]
    • [[graphic design]], [[artistic practice]]
    • designed [[physical spaces]]
    • interested in translation between disciplines
  • [[eduardo]]
    • [[note taking]] ok?
      • yes for now :)
    • background: comp sci + linguistics
    • cooperative/group projects, mapping, modelling and abstraction, translation
  • [[katherine]]
    • [[artist]] in [[london]]